Shutdown shuts down Trump’s New Year’s plans
When the gang at Mar-a-Lago rings in the New Year Monday night, the posh Florida club’s most prominent member will be missing: President Donald Trump. Mick Mulvaney, director of the Office of Management and Budget and the incoming chief of staff, says the president will stay in Washington to work on ending the week-long government shutdown. “Now, he’s canceled his plans for New Year’s,” Mulvaney said in an interview on “Fox & Friends,” noting Trump is engagement in shutdown negotiations on a “minute-by-minute basis.” If so, he’s not getting a lot of face time with members of Congress, who have all, by and large, gone home for the holidays.
No ESPN blackout after Disney, Verizon agreement
Verizon and Disney announced a deal to keep the network’s channels on Fios, a day before a contract between the two companies was set to expire on Monday. The deal will be welcome news to Fios users who are college football fans as Disney’s channels include ESPN, which will air New Year’s Day bowl games. The other channels that would have been affected include the Disney Channel and ABC stations in New York and Philadelphia. The details of the new agreement will be released in the coming days, the statement added.
No ESPN blackout after Disney, Verizon agreement
Verizon and Disney announced a deal to keep the network’s channels on Fios, a day before a contract between the two companies was set to expire on Monday. The deal will be welcome news to Fios users who are college football fans as Disney’s channels include ESPN, which will air New Year’s Day bowl games. The other channels that would have been affected include the Disney Channel and ABC stations in New York and Philadelphia. The details of the new agreement will be released in the coming days, the statement added.
Stock markets close out a rotten 2018
Investors will have one more full day of trading on New Year’s Eve before closing the books on a dismal 2018. The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq will be open Monday; both will be closed on New Year’s Day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 6.7 percent in 2018, on track for its worst annual performance since 2008. Will 2019 bring better times? January has historically been a bullish month for U.S. stocks, but in the last 20 years, the Dow has fallen roughly 1.25 percent on average in the first month of the year and posted losses 55 percent of the time. USA TODAY columnist Ken Fisher, however, says now’s the time to buy.
It’s New Year’s Eve
But you already knew that. What you might not know: A 400-pound PEEPS Chick will be dropping in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, to ring in the New Year, one of five bizarre things being dropped in American cities celebrating Monday night. And while about one million people to gather in New York City’s Times Square to watch the iconic ball drop, another 198 million Americans and one billion people around the world will watch its descent on television. Prefer New Years deals over celebrations? Free Panera Bread bagels, Chick-fil-A sandwiches and IHOP kids meals are all happening, all in our roundup of New Year’s freebies wrapping up 2019. See you next year.
